Rent & Service Charges

Your rent

Rent arrears

The consequences of getting into rent arrears are serious. This section explains what happens if you get into rent arrears, what can result if you do not take action to clear your arrears and how you can get help from Homes for Islington, its partners and independent organisations.

If you get into arrears

If you get into arrears and have not contacted your area housing office, they will write to you asking you to arrange to pay. Do not ignore this letter – you must respond to an arrears letter. Do not wait until you have a large debt you cannot pay.

Homes for Islington, on behalf of the council, will do all it can to help you if you are having difficulty paying your rent. However, if you ignore attempts to contact you or break an agreement to pay your rent and arrears, action will be taken to evict you. This is because not paying your rent breaks your tenancy agreement.

The council will use all legal means to recover rent arrears. You will be told in writing, about any legal action and the likely consequences. The council does not want to evict tenants but will if rent arrears are not cleared.

You could be evicted

If you don’t pay, you can’t stay. Rent arrears can lead to eviction.
Failure to deal with your arrears after you have been sent an arrears letter may result in the following actions:

Possession orders
You may be sent a Notice of Seeking Possession. If this happens and an arrangement to pay the arrears is not made within four weeks we will apply to the court for a Possession Order. There will then be a court hearing, which you should attend. The court can grant the council two types of Possession Order.

Suspended Possession Order
This means that provided you keep to the agreement made in court to pay off the arrears, nothing more will be done. If you break that agreement, we will apply for a bailiff’s warrant to evict you.

Forthwith or Outright Possession Order
This means you will be evicted.

If the court grants either of these orders you lose your security of tenure.
You may also have to pay an additional £120 court costs that the court may award the council for having to take court proceedings against you.

Good reasons not to get into rent arrears:

• If you are evicted from your home for rent arrears the council will not normally rehouse you
• You may have trouble getting credits such as loans and hire purchase. A possession order always carries a money judgement for the amount of arrears plus court costs. This lasts for seven years
• You may not be able to get a mortgage as building societies and other lenders may, with your permission ask us for rent payment references
• You will not normally be able to get a transfer or a mutual exchange
• You will not be allowed to rent a garage, parking space or car cage. If you already rent one, it will be taken away from you
• You risk losing losing your 'right to buy' if you get into rent arrears. If you breach any terms of a possession order, you will lose your right to your tenancy and your 'right to buy' at the same time.

Please click here for information on Independent Advice Project at local area housing offices